Author: natanshmodi

Hello everyone, hopefully you all enjoyed your well deserved break. This month i attended the USASA Strategic Planning Session, Clubs Committee, Education Committee and Academic Board Meeting. I was also present at the USASA City West Campus Counter during Orientation Week, interacting with new students and handing out the USASA Goodie Bags.

I was an apology for USASA Board Meeting and Governance Committee due to being overseas for academic purposes.

At the USASA Strategic Planning Session, the USASA Board and the Staff discussed what key values they want USASA to represent going forward. During the session, the attendees were divided into two teams with both teams being tasked to come up with a mission statement that encapsulates USASA’s values. We were also tasked to come up with ways we can achieve the mission statement.

At the Clubs Committee meeting, we predominantly discussed the ways USASA can reach out to Club Presidents so that they can attend Clubs Committee Meetings. Tracy also updated us regarding the number of nominations received for Clubs Awards and she also went over an informal proposal to revitalise clubs at regional campuses.

At the Education Committee we had a presentation from Laura Anne Bull regarding some myths around MyCourseExperience. She also showed us the algorithm used to calculate mean score, which is an indicator of a teacher’s performance in a course. We also discussed the feeling around different schools regarding the proposed Merger between the University of South Australia and Adelaide University. The Academic Board meeting was a straightforward meeting and the only thing to note was the Academic Integrity Report, which highlighted a steep increase in the number of Academic Integrity cases arising from the Division of IEE.

At the finance committee meeting, the major point of discussion was setting of the budget for next year. Lengthy discussions were had on the finer points of the budget, including discussion on how to reinvigorate the clubs executive training and development program. No drastic changes were suggested in the budget measures.

At the governance meeting, continuation of the discussions from the previous meeting were had. More policies were reviewed and were recommended to the board to be approved with little to no changes made to them. Constitutional changes discussion again occupied major portion of the committee’s time.

At the board meeting, we had a presentation from the new Student Ombud, who explained to the board their duties and responsibilities. The only other major point of discussion was looking at the budget draft which went through the finance committee.

That is all from me this time and I hope to see you at the O-week stalls next week!! Come to the USASA office to get your free USASA’s bag of goodies.

Hope the most hectic month of the sp2 academic calendar was kind on all of you.

This month I attended several meetings and was an apology for several meetings due to tests and practicals.

Starting off, I was an apology for Education committee, Clubs committee and Academic board. I attended the finance committee and the May Board meeting. There was no governance meeting scheduled for the month of May.

At the finance committee we had a presentation from a Perpetual employee, regarding the financial state of the funds USASA has invested with them. The employee advised that the returns were meeting the forecasted numbers and will continue to meet forecasted numbers for the foreseeable future, barring any major international conflict. They also advised us about a rigorous vetting process they have put in place to ensure USASA funds are not breaching the terms of reference set out by the University of South Australia.

The May board meeting was the longest one of the year. At the board meeting we had a presentation from Jordon (NUS 2018 Welfare Officer). He advised the board about the campaigns the NUS is currently running or intends to run in the next couple of months. At the board meeting we also discussed whether or not to renew CISA affiliation for 2018-2019. After a strong debate on the subject the board ruled not to renew the CISA affiliation however; the board is willing to negotiate with the incoming CISA executive regarding the campaigns they will run in South Australia. A hazing report was brought forth to the board by the president and there were some lively discussion on the wording of the recommendation to be put forth.

I attended the finance committee meeting, where we discussed key financial aspects of USASA and how they help in maintaining stability. There was also discussion about the Perpetual funding and how the investment was progressing. Barring few administrative issues the investment is progressing very well and at the next committee meeting we will be able to see the analysis of the investment. Continue reading →

This month was very busy for me, since i had a range of events/meetings to attend in my capacity as a rep.

The main event i attended this month was the Campus fair held at City East. It was excellent to be out there and talking to students about USASA and handing out the USASA goodie bags. The response from students was overwhelmingly positive regarding the services USASA provides. Students were also quite happy to a see a healthy range of clubs present at City East.

The USASA board meeting was held on March 20. The interesting thing being discussed at the board meeting was regarding Toastie Tuesday being rolled out on Magill Campus and at the board meeting it was also decided that the reps of other campuses’ will endeavour to hold these types of events at their own campuses.

I convened two governance meetings this month. The main purpose of the governance committee is to review raft of policies and recommend any changes to the board, which will then decide whether to approve the change(s) suggested by the governance committee. Another thing that is happening in the governance committee is that we are looking at the constitution of USASA and reviewing it from top to bottom. That task will be the main focus of the committee. I also attended finance, clubs and education committee meetings in my capacity as a member of those committees.

Academic board meeting was held on March 23 where the board members were given an inside look into the changes being planned by fellow board members for enhancing the efficiency and productiveness of the University.

First of all i would like to welcome everyone back to the university! Hope you all have a great year ahead!

The first month of study period 2 is usually very busy for us USASA reps. This month was no exception.

We had our first board meeting of the year on February 6. In that board meeting most things which were discussed were of administrative nature. At the board meeting committee convenors and their members were also elected/decided. I am happy to say that i will be the convenor for the Governance committee, whilst also being a member of the clubs, education and finance committee.

I was present on the O-week days for City East, handing out the USASA bag of goodies and it was very nice to chat to some familiar faces and some new ones. It was fantastic to see the appreciation from the students regarding the services USASA provides.

This month i also attended Academic board meeting. This is my second year as an academic board member and us USASA reps will continue to push for the good work we did last year. At this board meeting we were able to confirm an important thing pertaining to the International Relations degree students.

Now as a USASA board member i also get to sit on Preclusion appeals committee. I sat on preclusion appeals committee meetings on February 9 and February 23. It was great to see the work that appeals committee does to give every student a fair go!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone at City East who supported and had faith in me as their Representative for 2017. I will continue to represent the City East students to the best of my ability in 2018.

On January 23-24th we had our Board Retreat. I am very excited to work with continuing and newly elected board members. Board retreat was a fantastic experience and an excellent team building occasion. Throughout the retreat the board members were very involved in their respective tasks, which is a good indicator for the students they will be representing this coming year. Continue reading →

This month was very busy owing to my exam period. I hope all your exams went well and are looking forward to your well deserved break.

I attended the board meeting on November 6th, the main point of discussion was about approval a new financial investment plan, which will exist to serve the students over the coming years. The another important take away from the board meeting was the fact that we approved a handover policy, which means that the incoming reps will have the required support they need to get firing on all cylinders. Continue reading →

This month has gone by very quick. I have attended and organized numerous meetings over the past month.

At this month’s board meeting, major points of discussion was supposed to take on the change of USASA’s financial policy, however owing to the absence of both the general manager and the financial adviser, the discussion was delayed till the november board meeting.

CCOM will be meeting on the 31st of October this month to discuss about the Clubs Awards night and Clubs strategic plan. The clubs awards night was a major success with numerous clubs execs and member showing up for the inaugural event. I was present there as well, to listen to the concerns of the clubs execs. I also presented the penultimate award of the night. From the feedback i received on the night, was very positive.

FCOM will be meeting on November 2 to discuss the financials and WCOM will meet on that day as well to start laying groundwork for emergency grants program.

I also attended a Formal inquiry in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. The outcome which was decided by the committee was very fair towards the student.

Hey all,
September was yet again another very busy month. I attended the board meeting early in the month where the major discussion point was an in-camera item which i cannot discuss. At the board meeting i gave my official report-back regarding the Education conference and highlighted the important role NUS plays in developing student leaders skills.

At the clubs committee we discussed about the Clubs strategic plan and are in process of finalising the strategic plan for 2018-2020. It will be exciting to see it rolled out next year. Clubs stand to benefit alot from this USASA initiative.

This month’s welfare committee was organised by me. We delved into more details regarding the future of brekky bar. The committee members are working very hard to find a sustainable solution for brekky bar. We also discussed the possibility of rolling out the Emergency Grants program from next year.

The Finance committee this month voted to relax some of the constraints which were negatively impacting the financial capabilities of the Association.

I also attended 2 Formal inquiries in the School of Business this month. The outcomes of those inquiries were very fair towards the students involved as the committee members deliberated at every possible option before choosing the best option.